I’ve found a 3D Warehouse model I want to use (Argus As.II 120cv engine), but I don’t know what scale it is. How can I tell what size it is, and can I upscale or downscale it?
Use the Tape Measure tool and measure something on it to see. The normal method of working in SketchUp is to draw everything to its actual dimension. That’s not to say the author did that but if the model of the engine is worth downloading, it should be at the correct dimensions now. If you need to change its size, you can use the Scale Tool or the Tape Measure tool. See the help files on those tools.
Thank you very much. If I want to 3D print them, I just resize them and that’s it?
Most likely. But it will also need to be a solid group or component to be printable. Is it?
The engine is more or less, but the twin machine guns have hollow tubes with holes around the actual barrels themselves. Do you suggest I separate these so they can be printed and assembled?
It depends on how big the overall model is and other things. It depends on how it will be printed. If you’re going to print it in its entirety, it will have to be a solid group or component. It can’t be “more or less” a solid. Either it is or it isn’t.
If you open the Entity Info window and then select something in the model view, Entity Info will tell you whether SketchUp thinks the selection is a solid. In general, only solids can be exported for 3D printing.
I downloaded that model. As imported from the 3D warehouse, it is way too large to print unless you have an industrial size printer and lots of time and money! Also, it contains a significant number of nested components and groups, most of which are not solids, so most 3D printer software will not accept it even if you export as stl. Finally, there is a tremendous amount of detail that will most likely not work well if you reduce the size for 3D printing.
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I want it to be 1:6 scale so the distance across the six cylinders (from extreme left of cylinder 1to right of cylinder 6) is 14 cms, and I’m happy to lose detail and to separate it into components to avoid void areas (exhaust, rockers etc.). Would that work?
spandauw2.skp (1.9 MB)
I want to print these guns at the same 1:6 scale so they are 14 cms long. Again, I’m happy to lose detail and to make them in components. Is this viable too?
Ultimately, you could make it work, but it will be a tremendous amount of effort. You would start by isolating each part you imagine you would print as a separate object and copying it to an individual file. In that file, you would resolve any issues the part has with regard to being solid (tools such as Outer Shell and ThomThom’s Solid Inspector can help with this). Then remove or simplify excess details to achieve something that does not exceed the resolution of the printer. Finally, scale down to the print size, export as stl, and send the stl to the printer to see whether the printer software will accept and/or repair the model.
Good luck!
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Hmm. This is clearly out of my league. Are there people who can do this for me? I’m happy to pay.